By Sharon Morioka
Michigan Law
When the US Supreme Court begins its 2025–2026 term this fall, Michigan Law alumnus Alexi Ehrlich, ’21, will hold one of the coveted positions of law clerk, serving Justice Neil Gorsuch.
He anticipates that the clerkship will allow him the opportunity not only to learn the inner workings of the court but to serve his country and the judiciary.
“I’m very excited to get a chance to serve,” said Ehrlich, currently an associate attorney in the Washington, DC, office of Gibson Dunn.
“But, first and foremost, I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from the justice himself. He’s an incredibly brilliant legal thinker and a wonderful writer.”
Ehrlich will be one of two alumni, along with fellow 2021 graduate Jacob Altik, clerking for Justice Gorsuch during the 2025–2026 term. It is the seventh straight term that a Michigan Law alumnus has clerked at the high court.
This won’t be Ehrlich’s first experience as a clerk.
Following graduation, he worked for the Hon. Stephanos Bibas of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and then the Hon. Trevor N. McFadden of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, both of whom he credits for their mentorship and support as he pursued the Supreme Court clerkship.
“Both experiences were transformative. I got incredible legal writing and legal reasoning training from both of them. I can see it in my practice now,” Ehrlich said.
He has worked at Gibson Dunn since November 2023, focusing on complex commercial, regulatory, and appellate litigation.
In addition, he said the judges for whom he clerked “taught me how to think about the law from a first principles perspective. Both have been very generous mentors.”
Learning the law at Michigan
A self-described “law nerd,” Ehrlich showed his talent for the law as a student, including in his work in the Veterans Legal Clinic.
“I first witnessed Alexi’s talents and perspective when he joined the clinic in the fall of 2019,” said Matthew Andres, ’02, director of the clinic.
“He quickly won my confidence by synthesizing the precedent and expanding on it to propose creative strategies for how to handle each case. Alexi’s devotion to his clients, deep knowledge of his cases and the law, and grasp of strategy led to excellent results for his clients.”
Ehrlich said his experiential opportunities and extracurricular activities followed doctrinal classes that provided a firm foundation in his legal education.
“I now have friends and colleagues from different law schools,” he said. “And I’ve realized one thing that was special about my experience was my law professors were all willing to go the extra mile and discuss concepts I didn’t fully understand.
“My impression is that the professors were excited to teach, excited to engage, excited to challenge us. And that rubbed off on me and got me that much more excited about the law.”
And when it came time to apply for the Supreme Court clerk position, he knew he could rely on his law school network for support.
Offering up that support was easy, said Andres.
“Alexi is whip smart, a deep thinker, comfortable with complexity, and a compelling advocate. He exudes kindness and compassion and cares greatly about his clients and his work. He will make an excellent Supreme Court clerk.”
Michigan Law
When the US Supreme Court begins its 2025–2026 term this fall, Michigan Law alumnus Alexi Ehrlich, ’21, will hold one of the coveted positions of law clerk, serving Justice Neil Gorsuch.
He anticipates that the clerkship will allow him the opportunity not only to learn the inner workings of the court but to serve his country and the judiciary.
“I’m very excited to get a chance to serve,” said Ehrlich, currently an associate attorney in the Washington, DC, office of Gibson Dunn.
“But, first and foremost, I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from the justice himself. He’s an incredibly brilliant legal thinker and a wonderful writer.”
Ehrlich will be one of two alumni, along with fellow 2021 graduate Jacob Altik, clerking for Justice Gorsuch during the 2025–2026 term. It is the seventh straight term that a Michigan Law alumnus has clerked at the high court.
This won’t be Ehrlich’s first experience as a clerk.
Following graduation, he worked for the Hon. Stephanos Bibas of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and then the Hon. Trevor N. McFadden of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, both of whom he credits for their mentorship and support as he pursued the Supreme Court clerkship.
“Both experiences were transformative. I got incredible legal writing and legal reasoning training from both of them. I can see it in my practice now,” Ehrlich said.
He has worked at Gibson Dunn since November 2023, focusing on complex commercial, regulatory, and appellate litigation.
In addition, he said the judges for whom he clerked “taught me how to think about the law from a first principles perspective. Both have been very generous mentors.”
Learning the law at Michigan
A self-described “law nerd,” Ehrlich showed his talent for the law as a student, including in his work in the Veterans Legal Clinic.
“I first witnessed Alexi’s talents and perspective when he joined the clinic in the fall of 2019,” said Matthew Andres, ’02, director of the clinic.
“He quickly won my confidence by synthesizing the precedent and expanding on it to propose creative strategies for how to handle each case. Alexi’s devotion to his clients, deep knowledge of his cases and the law, and grasp of strategy led to excellent results for his clients.”
Ehrlich said his experiential opportunities and extracurricular activities followed doctrinal classes that provided a firm foundation in his legal education.
“I now have friends and colleagues from different law schools,” he said. “And I’ve realized one thing that was special about my experience was my law professors were all willing to go the extra mile and discuss concepts I didn’t fully understand.
“My impression is that the professors were excited to teach, excited to engage, excited to challenge us. And that rubbed off on me and got me that much more excited about the law.”
And when it came time to apply for the Supreme Court clerk position, he knew he could rely on his law school network for support.
Offering up that support was easy, said Andres.
“Alexi is whip smart, a deep thinker, comfortable with complexity, and a compelling advocate. He exudes kindness and compassion and cares greatly about his clients and his work. He will make an excellent Supreme Court clerk.”
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